FOURTEEN QUESTIONS TO ASK AS YOU REVISE

1.Does your plot concentrate on a group of characters
your readers will find interesting?  

2.Have you exposed them chiefly through scenes, action,
dialogue? 

3.Are your characters' motives clear and powerful? 

4.Do you plan your ending first and plant clues along the
way, possibly some foreshadowing? 

5.Does the ending answer the story's question and tie up
all the subplots and loose ends? 

6.Do you avoid coincidences and 
contrivances? 

7.Does your reader have a clear sense of
time and place in each scene? 

8.Have you used weather, geography,
lighting, objects and possessions to
set the tone? 

9.Have you chosen the events that are
the most significant portions of the
main character's life? 

10.Do your characters come to life when
they talk? 

11.Do the scenes also contain sequels --
the aftermaths and reactions to the
events that often provides the bridge
to the next scene? 

12.If you haven't used one point of view,
have you used a consistent pattern of
alternating points of view? 

13.Are the prepositions you've used necessary -- or clutter?

14.And the biggie: Is the conflict compelling? Does it really
matter in the characters' lives, have lasting impact?